A Greek Odyssey: Faith & Reason from Plato to Paul Program

The Greek Odyssey program brings students into direct engagement with two traditions central to Pepperdine’s intellectual and spiritual heritage: philosophy and Christianity. In Athens and across the Hellenic landscape, students will examine questions about knowledge, wisdom, faith, and revelation in the historical settings in which some of the most influential answers took shape. Students will also consider how these traditions continue to shape the Christian faith and the contemporary world. 

The provisional program agenda includes the following activities: 

• Walking through the Athenian Agora, where Socrates engaged in philosophical dialogue, and visiting the sites of Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum;
• Standing on Mars Hill, where Paul brought the Christian message into conversation with Greek philosophy; 
• Pondering ancient approaches to wisdom and divine revelation while exploring Delphi;
• Traveling to sites connected with the Apostle Paul’s ministry and letters (possibly Corinth, Crete, Philippi, and Thessaloniki);
• Encountering contemporary Christian practice through monasteries and other expressions of lived religion in Greece; and
• Serving alongside local organizations in Athens while reflecting on faith, virtue, and justice in practice. 

This program offers students the opportunity not merely to read Plato and Paul, but to encounter the traditions they helped shape and ask how those traditions continue to influence faith, reason, and the life of the mind today. 

Program Dates

May 10 - June 3, 2027

*The dates listed above are planned group flight departure dates from LAX and in-country return departure date.

Costs

Health & Safety

Visa Information

Course Requirements and Offerings

Refer to the academics page for details on the minimum unit requirements and class pre-requisites for the program. Textbook lists will be provided by the program staff.

Faculty-in-Residence

Dyron Daughrity

dyron.daughrity@pepperdine.edu

Divisional Dean of Religion and Philosophy

Dyron B. Daughrity serves as Pepperdine University’s Divisional Dean of Religion and Philosophy, and the William S. Banowsky Chair and Professor of Religion. He is the author of numerous books and articles in the fields of comparative religion, global Christianity, and world religious history. He was recently elected President of the American Society of Church History.  He is also an ordained pastor, currently serving as Senior Minister of the Hilltop Community Church of Christ in El Segundo, California. Dyron has been married to Sunde for over 30 years, and they have four children. 

Garrett Pendergraft

garrett.pendergraft@pepperdine.edu

Professor of Philosophy

Garrett Pendergraft is a philosophy professor at Seaver College who loves teaching philosophy because it makes your brain hurt (but in a good way). He teaches courses in logic, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology, which means he gets to spend a lot of time pondering questions about humanity, reality, and the relationship between the two. (He also likes to ponder less consequential questions, like whether it’s permissible to put lettuce in a Greek salad.) Garrett and his wife Amy, along with their three kids, are excited to experience Greece with students while exploring the enduring relationship between faith and reason.